World Refugees Paint Their Journey

In September, 2017, I headed to Stuttgart, Germany, where a huge influx of migrants and refugees had recently arrived, leading to a bitter divide in the country in whether to embrace or reject these newcomers. I joined forces with local youth and refugee organizations and the Park Inn by Radisson hotel to lead a mural project that highlighted this important issue. This was the…

Syrian Refugee Youth Projects

Check out more Joel’s Syrian refugee youth projects here  

Art & Sustainability in the Dominican Republic

The Rafey barrio of Santiago, in the Dominican Republic, is a neglected community that is home to the largest trash dump in the city. Max Frieder and I, both co-directors of the organization Artolution, arrived in Rafey in April to facilitate a multi-media public art project in partnership with 3 Santiago artists, a group of local teenagers from the local San Pedro Nolasco High…

California Communities Stand Strong with Messages of Inclusion!

Since the presidential campaign, fear and anxiety have been especially high in the Central Valley of California’s largely immigrant agricultural communities, who are responsible for growing two thirds of the nation’s produce. This diverse region has large numbers of Mexican immigrants and migrant workers as well as Mexican-Americans whose families have been here since California was part of Mexico. There are undocumented and documented,…

Dreams & Superpowers: A South African Story

In late September, I headed to South Africa to facilitate a community mural project at an orphanage in Johannesburg. My wife and frequent collaborator, CJ, joined me as the project manager and co-facilitator. This was the last of a series of four projects in 2016 for the Adding Color to Lives youth arts initiative in four countries, a partnership with Park Inn hotels in…

The Dream City on a Dragon

  Krakow, Poland. To me, this was always a place from a faraway time, the city where my great-grandfather, Harry Baum, had been born, back when Poland was divided up between three regional powers. It was the setting for unimaginable horrors during the Second World War, then became part of the Soviet sphere for decades. But upon arrival, I found that Krakow has been…

Diving into the Subconscious with Chris and Marc

For this year’s addition of the Welling Court Mural Festival in Queens, New York, I had the honor of collaborating with two friends who also happen to be incredible artists, Chris Soria and Marc Evan. We chose to depict an underwater scene that alludes to exploring the subconscious. My favorite thing about working with these guys is the way our styles flow seamlessly, as…

Battling the Demon in Estonia

Where is Tallinn, Estonia? This was the question on my mind as I walked out of the plane and onto the tarmac, suddenly realizing that I was embarrassingly ignorant about the location for the latest installment of the Adding Color To Lives mural arts youth initiative. I mean, I had a vague notion that Estonia was one of those small, Eastern European country that…

Youth Transforming Their Community in Norway!

The community of Kløfta, outside of Oslo, was the scene of the first of four in a series of youth public art projects this year with Park Inn by Radisson hotels, known as Adding Color to Lives. For this initiative, I partnered with a youth center called Huset Kløfta, where 20 young people designed their own mural in the opening workshop and then spent…

Sparking Dialogue Through Art: The Israeli & Palestinian Artolution Initiative 2016

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is among the most intractable and complex in the world today, with local politicians and world leaders alike unable to find a viable alternative to the unsustainable and violent status quo. With no solution in sight and the political situation having deteriorated in recent years, the only positive developments possible are the ones happening on the grass-roots level, between regular people…

Transforming a Tunnel, Transforming Lives in Queens, New York

  The 100-foot pedestrian tunnel that runs under the Cross Island Parkway in the far-flung community of Bellerose, Queens had been a source of irritation for residents over many years, racking up complaints to the city that it was filled with trash and broken beer bottles, the smell of urine and profanity-laced graffiti, all of which was taken in by locals simply trying to make…

Miami: Wynwood Walls

In December I finally made it to Miami for the Art Basel Festival, where I stayed with fellow Brooklyn-based artists and friends Chris Soria and Marc Evan. I spent the week in the street art mecca, Wynwood, where I met dozens of incredible artists from around the world as well as local Miami artists, and was truly inspired by the sheer quantity of mind-blowing…

Collabo with Rocko in Bushwick, Brooklyn

This collaboration between myself and Moroccan-born, Brooklyn-based artist Rocko was created in the Bushwick neighborhood. Rocko’s style is influenced by Arabic symbols and calligraphy, specifically from Morocco. His initiative, Spread Art NYC, works with communities artists to bring high-quality murals to the streets of Brooklyn. This piece was inspired by the work of legendary New York photographer Barron Claiborne, who was involved in the design…

Emma

I was saddened to hear the news that Emma, one of the Project Jericho students who participated in our summer mural arts project, took her own life a few days ago. She was only 14 years old. Emma was the “umbrella girl” in the mural, and the fact that she was chosen to be the model to represent young people who overcome great challenges…

Street Child World Cup! Football & Art for Change

The Street Child World Cup is, in my opinion, a pretty genious-y idea that began in South Africa in 2010, coinciding with the World Cup that year. This time around, a greatly expanded event took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, featuring 25 football (soccer) teams, both male and female, from 19 different countries. The teams were made up of teenagers, many of whom…

Inaugural Event for the Kibera Walls for Peace

This was a big weekend for the Kibera Walls for Peace Project! It began with our huge inaugural event on Saturday afternoon and evening. We rented a big stage and tents, and the crowd enjoyed musical performances by local musical artists, dance competitions, refreshments, and speeches about the project and about peace for the election. The Kibera Hamlets youth spoke about the project and…

Life in Kibera

Being here in Kibera has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have spent a great deal of time in marginalized communities in the past, especially in the favela (slum) Cidade de Deus(City of God) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Kibera’s slums are on another level; in fact, most favelas in Brazil would not even be considered slums in Kenya due to their paved roads, brick houses…

Focus on Tribalism

As we gear up for our second week of Kibera Walls for Peace, the youth have identified several topics that they would like to focus on for the murals. The first of these is tribalism, an important factor in the violence that erupted after the last presidential election. Tribalism refers to politics that focus on the division between tribes rather than ideological divisions that…

The Dilemma of the Slum

In societies that have large populations living in slums such as Brazil and Kenya, it is often asked what should be done about them. There are many who advocate for bulldozing shacks and putting everyone in modern apartment buildings. This solution is unrealistic, expensive and is not in the best interest of residents. From my window here in Kibera I can see an example…

Art on the Streets of Brazil